Smenospongia sp. (OTU QM4760) OTU QM4760

Dictyoceratida Thorectidae

External characters

irregular, digitiform, loose fingers, ramose.

Colour

exterior deep maroon in ethanol.

Skeletal Characters

Oscules large, on apices of digits, few, circular, ~3 mm (d).
Texture tough, tearable, rubbery, compressible, resilient.
Surface_Ornamentation conulose, fibres protrude beyond conules, shiny and smooth between conules.
Ectosomal_Skeleton distinguished from choanosome; conules raised by fibres which protrude though ectosome; ectosome heavily pigmented.
Choanosomal_Skeleton fibrous; reticulation of primary and secondary fibres; primaries not differentiated from secondaries; fibres clear, lightly laminated, not dense; mesohyl incorporates foreign spicule debris and small sand grains, little pigment; pigment in granules.
Megascleres nil.
Microscleres nil.
Mudmap_Author Kathryn Hall
Mudmap_Editor Kathryn Hall

Distribution

In French Polynesia: Society archipelago

Ecology and habitat

Bottom of the pass

Kathryn Hall (2012). QM4760 Smenospongia sp. In: Hall, K.A. & Hooper, J.N.A. (2014) SpongeMaps: an online community for taxonomy and identification of sponges. (Available at http://www.spongemaps.org).